Dakshineswar | |
|---|---|
Neighbourhood | |
     From top, left to right: Dakshineswar Kali Temple; View of Bally Bridge from Dakshineswar; Dakshineswar Skywalk; Dakshineswar Bus Stand; Dakshineswar Metro Station | |
  Dakshineswar Location in West Bengal, India Show map of Kolkata Dakshineswar Dakshineswar (West Bengal) Show map of West Bengal Dakshineswar Dakshineswar (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:22°39′20″N88°21′28″E / 22.6554310°N 88.3578620°E /22.6554310; 88.3578620 | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  West Bengal |
| Division | Presidency |
| District | North 24 Parganas |
| Metro Station | Dakshineswar |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Body | Kamarhati Municipality |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali, English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 700035, 700076 |
| Telephone code | +91 33 |
| Vehicle registration | WB |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Dum Dum |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Kamarhati |
| Indian Railways station | Dakshineswar |
| Kolkata Metro station | Dakshineswar |
Dakshineswar is a neighbourhood in theKolkata Metropolitan Area ofNorth 24 Parganas district in theIndianstate ofWest Bengal. It is a part of the area covered byKolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).[1][2]
Dakshineswar gets its name from the Sanskrit name theDakṣiṇeśvara ofShiva. The temple of Shiva is located around 1.5 km north of the famousKali temple, at the southern part ofAriadaha.[3] The temple is very important to theShiva devotees and theLingam is believed to beSvayambhu.
The mythologicalasura king,Banasura attributed to build the temple. There is also a tank named after the king,Ban Rajar Dighi. The locality was previously known asDeulpõtā, suggesting the ancient temple could have been destroyed and submerged, later discovered and brought to the riverside from the ancient lake and built the present temple by Dewan Haranath Ghosal, a local rich man in 19th century.[4]
Dakshineswar is located at22°39′18″N88°21′29″E / 22.655°N 88.358°E /22.655; 88.358. Surrounded by Alambazar,Baranagar (separated byBelghoria Expressway) in South, Ariadaha in North,Dunlop in East andGanges River (locally calledHooghly River) in West.Hooghly River is considered sacred to Hindus and its water is considered holy.
Dakshineswar[5] has its own police station from 2022,[6] before that the locality covered byBelgharia police station underBarrackpore Police Commissionerate has jurisdiction over Kamarhati Municipal area.[7][8]
Also, Dakshineswar Kali Temple has a Police outpost in its boundary that serves theKalibari estate.
Dakshineswar is the most important international pilgrimage centre in the district.Dakshineswar Kali Temple was built in 1855 byRani Rashmoni. The temple is famous for its association withShri Ramkrishna Paramahamsha Dev, a mystic of 19th Century Bengal. Large number of people gather at Dakshineswar throughout the year especially on the day ofShyama Puja, Shiva Chaturdashi,Bengali New Year's Day (naba barsha),Akshaya Tritiya and on 1 January every year on the occasion ofKalpataru Utsava (the day Shree Ramkrishna attainedsiddhi)[9][10][11]
As per theDistrict Statistical Handbook, "Panchabati Ban is the place where Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansha Dev planted five (pancha) trees i.e. Asvattha, Bata, Bel, Asok and Amlaki, under which he used to meditate. The Panchamundi Asan is called so because there are five human skulls buried underneath and Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansha Dev used to sit and meditate on theasan (seat) and attainedsiddhi (enlightenment/attainment with the Holy Spirit i.e. the God; in his case Goddess Kali)."[11]
Adyapeath Ashram, located nearby at Dakshineswar, is the house of deities of Sri Adya Shakti.[11]
Dakshineswar is also home toIndian Army,Indian Navy camps, Border Security Forces. There are various Military housing facilities for the armed forces with a primary school in the camp. The navy also uses the river for various water sports.
WIMCO, a Swedish match company, which established in the 1920s a factory at Dakshineswar, was taken over byITC Limited in 2011.[12][13]
Emami Paper Mills Ltd. manufactures newsprint from waste paper. It is one of the largest producers of newsprint in the country. It has two plants – one at Dakshineswar and the other at Balgopalpur, Balasore.[14]
Dakshineswar is one of the most important religious shrines for Hindus and people from all over the world visit the Dakshineswar Kali Temple every day in numbers. Along with the Kali temple, there are other important Hindu temples like the Adyapeath temple,Ramakrishna Sarada Math and many more. Because of a large number of temples in the town and the Ganges River flowing by, it is also regarded as a twin town of Varanasi by the locals.
Belghoria Expressway is atolledexpressway connecting the junction points ofNH 19 andNH 16 atRajchandrapur (nearDankuni) to Dakshineswar, acrossNivedita Setu and then toNH 12 (Jessore Road), nearDumdum/Kolkata Airport.[15][16] Dakshineswar is also connected by ordinary toll-free PWD Road toDankuni acrossVivekananda Setu (old Bally Bridge) and toDunlop More onBarrackpore Trunk Road (part of bothSH 1 andSH 2). Dakshineswar is also connected toAriadaha via Ramkrishna Paramhansa Dev Road-Rabindranath Tagore Road-D.D. Mondal Ghat Road and toBaranagar via Surya Sen Road-Deshbandhu Road. Many buses ply along these roads.[17]
Dakshineswar railway station is 13 km fromSealdah railway station on theCalcutta Chord line linkingDum Dum Junction railway station withDankuni Junction railway station.[18]
Dakshineswar-Belur Math and Dakshineswar-Uttarpara ferry services are available across the Hooghly from Maa Bhabatarini Jetty.[17]
The 350 m-long (1,150 ft) and narrow Rani Rashmoni Road links Dakshineswar bus stand and railway station to the Kali temple. This road is used annually by 13 million devotees. On festival days 1lakh people visit Dakshineswar. On 17 March 2015, the Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone of a 400 m long, 10.5 m wide elevatedwalkway over the congested road to be built at a cost of Rs. 63 crore. The road below would be widened and used only by vehicles. The skywalk will have 12 escalators, 4 elevators and 8 staircases. There is provision for 200 shops inside the skywalk.[19][20][21][22] The Skywalk, named Dakshineswar Rani Rashmoni Skywalk, was inaugurated by Banerjee, on 5 November 2018.[23]
The extension ofBlue Line from Dum Dum toDakshineswar was sanctioned in 2010–11. It was extended up toNoapara in 2013.[24] The subsequent work was held up because of the encroachments on railway land. The extension was inaugurated on 22 February 2021 byPrime MinisterNarendra Modi and now is a part of Kolkata Metro's North—South Line.[25]
Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women was established at Dakshineswar in 1959. It offers honours courses in Bengali, English, Sanskrit, sociology, history, political science, philosophy, education, journalism, music, geography, economics, zoology, botany, food & nutrition, psychology, chemistry and general courses in BA and B Sc.[26][27]
Adyapeath Annada Polytechnic College is a government-sponsored college and was established at Dakshineswar in 2016. It offers diploma engineering courses in mechanical, electrical and civil engineering.[28]
Adyapeath Annada B.Ed. College was established at Dakshineswar in 2013.[29]
Schools like Ariadaha Kalachand High School, Dakshineswar High School (oldest educational institution of the area), Dakshineswar Sri Sri Sarada Devi Balika Vidyalaya and Dakshineswar Bharati Bhaban Girls' School are there for Primary and secondary education.
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Dakshineswar travel guide from WikivoyageKolkata/Northern fringes travel guide from Wikivoyage| External videos | |
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 Dakshineswar Skywalk under construction |
Cities, towns, locations and neighbourhoods inNorth 24 Parganas district,Presidency division | |||||||||
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| Neighbourhoods of other cities and towns in the district | |||||||||
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| Kolkata Municipal Corporation |
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| Kolkata Urban Agglomeration Outside KMC |
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